Austerity Sledgehammer: At Least Half a Million College Students On Waiting Lists as Loans Dry Up; Colleges Face Mass Layoffs

Austerity measures, though unpopular and not discussed by government officials and media pundits, are in full effect across a broad spectrum of services and industries.

In many parts of the country local governments are being forced to layoff or cut the salaries of thousands of emergency personnel. Education spending cuts across debt behemoths like California, Illionois and Michigan are forcing elementary and high school classrooms to capacities exceeding thirty or forty students at a time and removing subjects like art, music and physical education from school schedules. Towns and cities all over America are declaring bankruptcy on an almost weekly basis. Government sponsored health care systems are feeling the pressure with major cuts in access to key prescription medications quickly becoming the norm.

Today it’s become quite apparent, especially for those just entering college or returning to higher education in an effort to learn new skills for a dying or dead jobs market.

In addition to nearly $1 billion in state funding cuts for college students, the progressive State of California and others are now facing massive jobs cuts and salary reductions across the board.

This is only going to get worse – it can be no other way:

More than 470,000 community college students are beginning the fall semester on waiting lists, unable to get into the courses they need, according to a survey of California’s two-year colleges that captures a system struggling amid severe budget cuts.

…

California’s community college system, the nation’s largest, has suffered about $809 million in state funding cuts since 2008. It faces another $338-million hit midyear if voters reject a tax measure on the November ballot supported by Gov. Jerry Brown.

…

Although they hope for the best, many campuses are planning for the worst. They are taking steps, for example, to negotiate union contracts that include reductions in compensation and employee working hours pending further spending cuts.

“There is no question that the system is shrinking in terms of the number of students we’re serving but not shrinking in terms of demand,” Chancellor Jack Scott said in an interview Tuesday. “The real problem is we don’t have the financial resources to offer the courses that we could fill. In the long run, it’s going to be hurtful to the economy. These are the individuals who are going to make up the future workforce of California.”

These students also tend to be among the neediest: They typically require remedial classes, financial aid, tutoring and counseling. And many are juggling school with jobs.

Yet 70% of colleges in the survey report having reduced hours for such support services, and 87% have reduced staff. In addition, 82% said they planned to offer no winter session this year.

…

The colleges predicted a grim year if further cuts are required in January. Administrators said they would need to further reduce class offerings, lay off full-time faculty, postpone building and classroom maintenance, and borrow to manage cash-flow needs.

Already, budget cuts have had a deep effect. Overall enrollment dropped about 17%, from about 2.9 million in the 2008-09 academic year to 2.4 million in 2011-12, and officials have estimated a further decline this year. The number of class sections decreased 24% from 522,727 in 2008-09 to 399,540 in 2011-12.

Despite their best hopes for change, it’s not a question of “if further cuts are required,” but rather, “when” those cuts will take place.

Americans are broke and going hungry, states have no money or credit left to fund the deluge of services they’ve committed to over the last three decades, and the Federal government is running unprecedented deficits and debt.

There is no help coming, regardless of how loud Occupy Wallstreet Protestors scream for free education, healthcare and more jobs.

We are seeing massive cuts – to the tune of tens of billions of dollars – in services that have become essential to stable functioning of the nation’s economy. In due time austerity will rear it’s ugly head in government safety nets that include federal retirement distributions, pensions, food and nutritional assistance and essential medical services.

They’ll protest when they can’t fund their college educations or homes. They’ll scream loudly when they can’t find jobs. But when they can’t feed their families or provide life saving medical care they’ll riot in the streets.

The force of the sledgehammer is starting to hit and the pain is going to be brutal and without mercy.

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It has been a week and I have not seen a better plan from anyone who disagreed with some of us about just cutting the cord and thinning the heard. No one wants to be the mean one. But we are to that point that we must start to understand there is some cruel decisions that will have to be made. (possiablly brass at our feet) And you better be ready to see the unprepare or lazy if you perfer, in the streets and just drive by even if they are carrying a little baby. You cannot save them all if we could we would of by now. So all the thumb down said that We must. Tell me how. or this is right or we must ??? Present the plan. Or step out of the way. Some of us want our family to do more than just survive. Idont have a plan for everybody, but I do have one for my family and group. Show me a better idea and I there. And if you are one of the one that keep beating on us. It getting old and your just in the way so please just go away.

Sounds great, unless you are the one being left out!! Do not forget, ” There is always someone bigger, faster,smarter, and stronger”. It will depend on how large the “comforted group” becomes, it might just include YOU!

SD Mule. Then make sure and plan and prep not to be the one left out of what you want to be in. Some are to late. If you must think of it as a test. Unless you are in the current crap education system there will be failures. No free pass. The world alone do not get you in.

Facebook Page,
I think you are missing the point. If it gets to the point where the herd gets “thinned”, you are assuming you will be in the group that doesn’t get “thinned”. I don’t care how much tp, .22 rounds, and canned food you have. If the Bankers bureaucrats, deem that you and yours are not herdworthy guess which group you will find yourself in? A little compassion for your fellow man will not hurt you. You do not have to be like them, but to understand their plight and realize you could easily be in their shoes allows a little humanity to seep into your life.
Are we animals??

SD Mule, ever since I was old enough to work I’ve made certain never to be counted among the “comforted group”, ever. I require no comforting from society or politicians, ever.

Right now we have just such a comforted group right here in America that sleazy politicians fall over themselves pandering to on a daily basis. I am gratefully immune to sleazy progressive socialist politicians who live to make promises their bodies can’t deliver.

If it ever comes down to a conflict between those who produce and those who take, the lines are already drawn and I’ve already chosen sides.

If I’m threatened by someone “bigger, faster, smarter, and stronger”, as you say, who means to deprive me of my property, I sincerely hope they can sprint faster than 3,200 feet per second because I will bring every force multiplier I own hard-to-bear on the problem until it is resolved to my satisfaction. I don’t give a crap how bloated the comforted group becomes.

If you have so much to tell us, then tell us what is your solution to the current financial crisis?

You are also missing the point. I did not say someone bigger, faster, smarter, or stronger was threatening you or your property. Read it again.
As far as the “force multiplier” BS, the government ( both Republican and Democrat, State and Federal levels) have been stealing your money and your Liberty for years and you have done nothing. Save the macho crap for the nieces, nephews, and/or grandchildren. I am sure it will be entertaining for them.

Facebook, good points you’re bringing up and I understand as others do concerning ‘cutting the cord’. You’re right, hard choices will have to be made. Even the Ark had a door/the five prudent virgins wouldn’t share.
Be of good cheer SD Mule, Facebook and YH are just adding food for thought. There are a lot of people that are scared/worried concerning the future and all the possibilities of what might or will happen. There are others that are burning out from all the negativity coming our way (especially the msm). Facebook asked the right question “Anybody have a better plan?”. Individually, none of us have all the answers. Yet, you have to admit, we have all learned volumes from other’s posts. And we are all faced with some difficult choices now and latter.
Ohcumgache, realize that people are stressing out (this site too) and this site maybe the only place for them to vent. Take it with a grain of salt, opinions are…..and everyone has one.

Mama Bear is the first and only person here that at least presented a plan. I applaud you. Also agree since it will take a political “Vote” It will not happen.

I have never said it was my plan to participate. Yes I will say move along and defend what I have built. I have said we must have the mindset to survive. And yes it might be pasting the baby that need help. I never said hurt the baby, I never said do harm to the baby. I would not take from the baby. (Ido not have to I have prepared).

We have waited so long to do anything. That now all that is left is what will be force on us. And that will not be pretty. Everyone who attacks my veiw. I will ask are you all ready helping with all you have. All your saving to feed the????. If you are you may come after me and advise me with a better way. But if you are the one who is still liveing the life. Sending your 20$ to a charity now and then. You are blowing smoke and it is not up mine it is going up yours. You have lie to yourself.

So you know my plan is to close the gate and sit it out for six month and just watch it. Then come out and join the rebuild if it actually gets that bad. It is not a movie. It will be very boring with 90 seconds of fear. But alot can happen in that 90 seconds.

I will not argue that each persons God has a plan. But as in every religious they all have rule of providing for yourself. And I don’t know one that say it is my job to do all for others. Help yes. But not all. I wish the world was what The books of all Gods were the life we live in. I have seen the world. Everywhere is not Disneyland. And mostly it is shit. Most dont even see the bad on there own street until it to late.

Ohcumgache I do pity you. You have a idea that all you have to do is sit back and believe. It doesn’t work that way. So far you have not presented a single idea. So how will that earn you a seat with your God.

And in most cases the ones you say we should feel for are the farthest from God than anyone could be. Except the that are using the Church system for more handouts. So they are the one not following the Great plan you speak of. A isn’t the greatest gift Free will. Which also mean fighting to survive in this world that was loaned to us to use.

This site is becoming more vile and disgusting with each new article, I am not talking about the articles but the human beings spewing their garbage. I would be ashamed to direct anyone to this site. I will no longer have my name associated with such demagoguery and hatred. Nothing lasts forever but you may be surprised if the country actually does survive and you are stuck with the vile things you have said time and again, running through your brains. Many of you can not write a complete sentence, yet you will decide who lives and who dies. It is mind boggling how you have this little movie running through your heads and imagine what everything will be like when TSHTF, if it does indeed, life is not a movie and you will not decide who lives and who dies. Talk among yourselves, I am out of here.

He’s not saying HE is the one to make the decision,s just pointing out that they must be made. Sucks, but trying to save everyone and carry the worthless has gotten us to where we are today. Good people WILL fall through the cracks, but I am tired of hearing about the severe cuts in K-12 schools and colleges. Many still look like country clubs, and some people use student loans for living expenses, so they are borrowing a middle class lifestyle while they are in school and just starting out. To argue that nobody should lose their jobs there, or in government agencies (at any level) is to argue for the status quo. These places are bloated and many of these jobs should have never existed. What FBP is saying about ignoring suffering is that if you try to save all who deserve your help, you may well find yourself in the same predicament.

Ohcumgache, I hope that you do not leave. You are a thoughtful, caring voice of reason. Everyone needs the little pricks to their conscience, and you are a wonderful apologist for the downtrodden.

Facebook, I don’t know why you are celebrating and promoting your “plan” to “thin the herd” by “cutting the cord” as if you (“we”) could actually be in charge of something like that. It would truly be unleashing the hounds of hell. It is very Stalinesque, right down to the exhortation to ignore even the mother with the babe in arms, and let them starve in the street. Excuse me if I find your “central planning” repulsive.

I don’t deny that this is the endgame if we don’t change our course, but to actually WISH for it?

I think a far better “plan” is a 10% reduction in government spending across the board, from welfare to military, every year. But then that requires a political solution, which the hogs at the trough (both parties) refuse to give us. We need to beat the hogs back from the trough and make them have some fear of their masters. The tea party did an admirable job of this in the town halls, but they seem to have fallen asleep since then.

I suspect instead we will be having world war quite shortly, which is how TPTB cover up their problems. It’s just another way of “thinning the herd,” just as evil and disgusting as the thinning for which you slaver.

In the meantime, the best we can do as individuals is to prepare 10% for charity and work to educate and encourage people about self-sufficiency. Scale back your lifestyle, learn the old skills, and batten down the hatches.

I Have prepare my children not to be in that group. My children all have High dollar jobs (And save and prep and have no debt) or own their own company. They also are heir to what I have. They all, especially my daughters are very proficient with weapons and do know how to “Survive in the Woods” They are not the little sheep many are. I have been where families make choice when it come to their children in such a way. You would be surprise how much of the world do live by the strong survive. And children and the weak are discard for the good of the village. We as a society are soft. We must be tougher. And to add I have made very hard choices when it came to one of my sons. So I would not like any one having that decision in front of them. But sticking your head in the sand does not save your child or make the decision go away.
Then present your ideas. Feeling good about our neighbor solves nothing.

Who am I. I am a prepared person with a group and a plan. I will defend what I have and have decide if you were not prepare for what I believe is coming you are on your own. And every time I Look at my children or any child in my group. It make my decision easier to make when they start getting hard. So you are able to support the the other 50%. I can’t. I will send them your way. But when they start screaming where is their stuff their “Checks”. And they come after us what is your plan. Sit there and compare people to Hilter. We need to remember this SHIF will be world wide once it hits The USA. So we had better be prepare for the hard decisions. If you can survive and thrive you have me by your side. But come to me empty handed and I will just ask you to move on. If you wont and feel you should have mine stuff. There will be brass at my feet. We have lost this generation to our own stupidity. Let try to save it for our grandchildren at least.

I recently had two weeks in the US visiting. Looks like some places are already being thinned. Lots of people just seem MIA. Gone. Disappeared. The whole place felt like stepping back into the 1980s. I’m amazed just how much the US has slipped backwards. I used to enjoy most aspects about the US. This time, I couldn’t wait to leave. All in all, it was a depressing visit.

Yes a plan but how do you do it. Hope is great but no group is willing to stand up and change it when it come to pain. And cut the cord and let all the fall where it will. Yes many will roll over and die. And there will be much suffering. Show me a way to keep this train going and we can just letting the weak suck off the strong. When they out number the prepared the prepared seem to lose. And then everyone is weak. Just look at how this country look to other nations now. We have turn in to the old dog with a bark but just to scared to bite. We enjoyed the soft life. And now someone else wants it.

Long before I would see Americans starve (the thought of that in a nation that exports food is criminal) I would cut Congressional Pensions to a fraction of their bloated figures, cut all foreign aid, deport every illegal alien that can be found, make the DOD actually a defensive force, re-regulate banking and finance with Glass-Steagall and stop all corporate welfare.

Thin the herd? You think all of those on food stamps are lazy? The Free Trade agreements and a crooked Wall Street (Corzine can’t find 1.2 BILLION, no charges but can open a new hedge fund) destroyed millions of hard working Americans.

When looking at the people guilty of this mess don’t look down, look up.

Kevin2 How would you get all that to happen. So you will not be able to enforce that plan. If you can I will back it. But its not going to happen.

And yes most on food stamps are lazy they were unprepared. Even I ca remember when there was families that were honorable enough to take care of themselves. And even if they are not lazy where is it written the government or I am required to help. Why dont you and your churh do it and leave the rest of us alone with their needs. I will help who I think deserve it. Not who you think deserves it.

Seed banks
A mechanized military
Nukes
Every form of surveilance equipment known to man

You have:

A garden
Some rifles
…

And… then…

AND THENNNNNNNN

andthenandthenandthen…

So, by all means, provide them some entertainment as you do their job for them. I’m sure a “peon fight” will prove mightily amusing. They might even sell tickets and televise it amongst themselves.

Meh whatever why am I trying to make this point… it’s going to happen anyway. It just strikes me as ironic that some guy with a veggie garden and a Remington is going on and on about “thinning the herd”. It is to laugh.

Final target number is 500,000,000. We’re at 7.5 billion. Got a lottery ticket? Your odds are approximately equivalent.

Remember I know of a country that doesn’t even have the garden and has given the USA and russia (USSR) a pretty good kicking and I remember a bunch of short people with tunnel whooping our ass. So all that crap only gives then the advantage for so long.

Plus with your quitting. It make the odds for the rest of us a little better. And to be honest I would prefer you to just stay out of our way.

I’ll add again:
When the carrying costs of the society exceed its return(and we are there), the whole contraption collapses.
The political adjunct to this systemic implosion is that the productive people just stop supporting the Status Quo because it’s become too burdensome.
There are no “solutions”. The only “solution” is collapse, as only collapse will force everyone to go do something more sustainable to get by.

Most arent looking to buy. They want someone to give it to them.
And on the other hand the shcools arent broks. Many have surpluses that would make countries beam with pride. But they arent about to give it away. That is not what they are there for.

Colleges are non-profit in name only. Lots of people make huge salaries they could never hope to make in the private sector. Most college professors couldn’t be dragged out of academia with an M1 Abrahams tank.

Since the parasites took over the education system, education has been replaced with overpriced, dumbed down political correctness. The parasites have all the gatekeeper positions in education, they control the teachers unions, and the printing of all textbooks. They have the final say over how you are rated, and placed in school, and the grades you recieve.

America’s higher education system has been altered drastically, to create students who do not have all the information neccessary to make informed decisions, and will not be able to compete in the world market. This is not by coincidence, and is addition to the parasitic manipulation of the rest of American society in general, and Western Civilization as a whole. This phenomenon is not unique to America.

i attended and graduated from a highschool that the building had been condemned for twenty years before i graduated. we did not have carpet, or fancy desks, and we did not have air conditioning, computers, heck, we did not even have hand held calculators..but what we did have was really good dedicated teachers and students who kept coming back to class for more learning instead of dropping out or getting pregnant. and this dedication of teachers and students flowed over into a great small town community that stayed close and friendly and willing to work hard and help their neighbors in need and fifty years later it is still the same even though after years of hard work a new school was built and paid for. yes austerity is happening and yes, it is gonna get worse. how a person adapts to what they have and not what they dont have, is gonna help in their survival.

Funny no mention that the usa fed and state gov’s spend a Whopping $350-BILLION Per Year on combined various stuf to Fund Illeagles!!!!! Boo Fukin Hoo! We gots zero cash left! but will NEVER send 30 Million Illeagles Back to wherever they came from! well there ya go Kalif! soon to be All 50 states.

And please do not re-state the worn out fake crapola on “We are ALL imigrants here” WRONG! Probobly 90-95 % of ALL usa citizens are Natural Born Native americans.

Every nation at its early stages was created by Imigrants yes. BUT…After a few Centurys becomes nations of Native Borns. Please do not confuse imigration to usa in beginings era to Todays situation like so many Pro-illeagles liberals does ok.

Keep adding 2-3 Million More folks by legit and illeagle means and soon the usa will cease to be the usa as we ever knew it. Got Kids? Grandkids?…If yes, You best be concerned and not allow “emotional feelings” based reasons to overlook this problem.

I wonder where the author gets his info. One of the local community colleges just underwent a massive expansion and improvement program. The same goes for many of the freeways in calif. If the state is so broke where is the money for all these massive improvements coming from? Why would they almost double the size of a college and the cut enrollment, even Calif. is not that messed up.

A most important thinking point is WHY restrict student loans and collapse that segment of the economy now. Aside from the obvious of making the military more attractive to unemployed teenage indoctrinees, there is the fact that that group is less likely to be armed.

It is no secret that ALL retirement accounts have been targeted, as well as personal savings and checking accounts. When that happens it will be QE VI (quick entry, six inches) up the ass of the well armed populace. That is when the riots will start and the well armed militias will take to the political capitols to take their money back.

They have to collapse the least dangerous segments of the economy first. The housing collapse was the first domino because the people still kept their houses in the beginning, and the rate of foreclosures could be controlled to keep everyone from getting screwed at the same time.

We can only hope that the vast majority of those being “deprived” of college will stay home and be ready when they take dad’s retirement fund, instead of signing up to serve the Murder Machine that will be deployed to silence dads guns when they point to the source of the problem.

From this point forward, you should think little about what is being done and ask yourself why would they do a particular thing at that particular time. Money is never the reason because that is a valueless piece of paper they can print as much of as is needed.

Wait a minute okrahead, “470,000 consumers waiting in line to buy a product…” for a lot less than the product costs. The line would not be so long if market forces were allowed to have their way, and that’s a good thing. I have two post-grad degrees, neither of which were paid for by Uncle Sam, and it amazed me the number of people who went to college who I knew would end up working a job that did not require a degree, and the number of grad students who were there on borrowed money studying for degrees that would never repay their loans… The problem isn’t that we need Government to provide a service more effienciently, the problem is that we need government to get our of this business.

GC: Careful there, Common Sense isn’t nearly as common as most folks think it is. But an easy way to tell is to pull up your favorite college and check out the salaries of everyone working there. At the U.of F. here in Gainesville, Fl. , GO GATORS, it’s easily found on-line because it’s a public institution. I think most folks will find it enlightening to discover what professors of different disciplines get paid and what their staff members gets as well, not to mention the coaches and upper level staff positions. Have fun everyone.

Keep it handy for when the Charmin runs out. It was probably worth about that much anyways. College degrees, mostly, are trash anyways. Its just a punched ticket that you watched the game and were able to get to your seat. It doesn’t mean you know the rules or can hit the ball. Yet, companies will, over and over, pass over well experienced people for better educated ones.

I’ve worked with and hired people with everything from Associates to PHDs. I’ll never hire anyone that has to produce any work if they have more than a Batchelors. They want to set around and think, mostly. They think they’ve done their work because they got that piece of paper. I’m sure they’re not all that way but the range is counter intuitive.

They say education opens doors. I agree! Then, as you trip accross the threshold and fall flat on your face, you’ll get up and learn the job just like someone that has no degree.

Its one thing I look forward to in the collapse. It won’t matter if you have a PHD or a Masters, you’re screwed if you can’t think and, mostly, those degrees train people not to think, at least not in ways that help society.

The fact is “The Education Game” is so much bullshit, showmanship and fraud that anyone that values it, in my opinion, is an idiot.

This will give you the truth. Colleges hate this documentary. I, however, work in an IT department for a school corporation. Its full of sheople who worship education. I see this stuff everyday and its twisted worshipping cult. Its all about a hidden agenda to GET YOUR MONEY. Watch this for the truth:

The last college I worked at had 45 profs, and 300 ‘support staff’. Mind you – there were only four janitors, three IT people, and four maintenance guys. The kitchen was run by the Culinary Arts classes and the cooking done by the students.

This left the rest of the staff as curriculum specialists, accounting, financial aid specialists, way too many levels of management, a full PR department, two lawyers on retainer, and a metric ton of make-work positions usually handed out as political favors.

Trust me – there’s a shitload of fat that can be removed from nearly any college out there. I can only wonder and shudder at how much fat lurks in a state-level college… :/

I should also add that colleges, unlike businesses, do not have a ‘bottom line’ to reach. That is, there are no objective means of measuring how a college is doing, how they manage their money, or even if they’re running the damned thing efficiently.

A business has to please shareholders, keep within a budget (else they go bankrupt), and basically have to tend towards running as lean as possible. Colleges have no such restrictions.

QED: Colleges have a shitload of fat that could seriously stand to be trimmed.

There are some people who are not college material. The article mentions those needing remedial classes, tutors and financial aid as being the hardest hit. When I went to college in the early 80’s, I saw the same thing. The college turned out functional illiterates just to avoid being labeled racist. People who could barely read and write were given a “C”, just to get them out the door. So, get rid of all special programs and run the school on an austere budget. A school/college is no different than society as a whole. There are too many sucking the life out of it, as opposed to those who are asked to contribute, namely taxpayers. This includes too many levels of management, often created jobs, to satisfy diversity requirements. The gimmee gimmee era is over.

Yes OQ, but where else do you expect all of those liberal arts, philosophy and political science majors to work?..I guess if the restaurants can stay solvent then we’ll need more rude and incompetent waiters and waitresses…….

@ODD Q. ,I’m a hillbilly that went to school back in the 60’s. I made it till the spring of two years in a row in the eleventh grade and quit when spring fever hit me and I took off for the woods.Even tho I understand the concept of “education”,to get a better paying job,I’ll never understand why a college is suppose to make you smarter!?? I know right from wrong,crazy from genesis,logic from illogical.But WHAT is so GREAT about learning from Books that cram your head full of facts that someone else say’s is true!? I used to work (Self-employed)around a college in S.C.and every year a deck would fall off the back of a apartment with twenty five students on it!Crash and burn! The local railroad trestle ,over the lake,would claim two or three lives a year! IF that’s smart ,I don’t get it!And IF all else fails,(my favorite)more college-educationed people commit suicide than hillbillies!! Just a simple man,but a lot happier than you and your stack of Diplomas!!

Originally, (and theoretically) college is supposed to supply you with a couple of things:

* a well-rounded education to give you a wider perspective on the world at large. This way you can make better decisions, and not spend as much time trying to ‘catch up’ when you come across something complex.

* in-depth knowledge on complicated professions. We’re talking things such as medicine, engineering, astronomy/cosmology, physics, and similar subjects that take a lot of knowledge up-front in order to do the job competently.

* A means of helping middle- and upper-class kids become adults, since they didn’t have to go through the hard knocks that lower-class kids had to.

The problems began when colleges realized that money and power became more important than academics. If you can pack ’em deep and cheap, you can rake in a ton of money and power (that is, power in the form of prestige, influence, etc).

Nowadays, very few programs are actually doing what they’re supposed to do, and are more concerned with keeping that tuition money rolling in. From ever-changing requirements, to highly confusing tracks, to a whole host of garbage ‘requirements’? It’s become a mess. Now – top all that off with the complete takeover of most colleges by ideological dauphins, whose sole purpose isn’t instruction, but indoctrination. And, just as a little more icing on a very sloppy cake, profs and administrators alike are (if suitably aligned in ideology and political skills) guaranteed jobs for life courtesy of tenure, and the workload is laughably low (since you have assistants and interns to do all of your grunt-work anyway).

Little wonder that most college grads don’t know jack shit about how things are done in the real world anymore.

Upwards of 300K a year for the upper levels…. Now, the question is how can they make so much? The answer: because the same easy money that created $500,000 home prices for 2 bed room/1500 sq ft homes is the same one that blew up their salaries.

When the federal and state phantom money funding is cut, as we are seeing in California above, what happens to teachers and administrators? They lose their jobs – or their salaries are cut….

This is a direct result of a cut in the amount of funding being doled out by government… It’s a DIRECT relationship…

Tuition works the same way…. As I noted in a prior article about the education bubble (http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/broke-and-jobless-85-of-college-grads-moving-home_10172010 ), this collapse in state/federal funding will inevitably lead to a price collapse for college tuition (the ‘biflation’ effect)…. Education, like buying a car or home, is a debt based sector… As the credit available collapses, so too do the prices (not accounting for monetary inflation, of course, so we’re talking ‘real’ terms, not nominal)… Colleges will be forced to cut class prices if they want to make it affordable for people who are forced to pay their own way, instead of taking out loans… that’s the theory, at least…

The entire business sector involving colleges and universities is very inflated. For one, there are too many college students attending. Not everyone “needs” or should get a college degree. Because of that, not everyone “needs” or should get a college scholarship or loan. And with the lack of aptitude with many college students, not everyone “needs” to be admitted. Salaries for professors and tenured professors, chairs, and college Presidents are also exceptionally high. But it doesn’t end there.

The problems with inflated college tuition is grossly similar to the housing bubble where unqualified buyers were given loans they could not handle. Both of these financial problems were created in large part by the Federal Government. With respect to college tuition, it was the relaxation of the qualifications to apply for the Federal Stafford Loans. (Sound familiar???)

Tuition is inflated because of the management costs within the college/university facilities. Tuition cost (and increases) are relative to a college’s desirability or ranking which can exponentially increase the cost of tuition.

Matt or others who doubt this can check these inflationary factors as a percentage of increase against the cost of living or basic consumer price inflation to see facts.

Inflation Data states, “College tuitions soar each year, advancing far in excess of the inflation rate. The overall inflation rate since 1986 increased 115.06%, which is why we pay more than double for everything we buy. On the other hand, during the same time, tuition increased a whopping 498.31%.” They prepared a chart to compare the rise in tuition compared to overall consumer prices and this can be found at inflationdata-dot-com.

The college sector needs a reset. Let the education-bubble burst and then normalize.

The reason for the tuition inflation can be described in a single phrase:

Easily available government aid/loans for college tuition.

Anytime government gets involved with supplying money or require monies to be available, prices soar. Look at the prices of:

healthcare

auto body repair (in states where insurance is required)

…and of course, before 2006, housing.

Even years ago, I did a study of what it cost to fix a simple simple injury. This was maybe 20 years ago. I find it fascinating that you came up with similar inflationary magnitude. I found that while staples and income inflated a certain percentage, I found that medical expenses rose approximately 4 to 5 times that much. This seems to be a function of the availability of insurance. Once the insurance or finance industry gets into a business, the businesses realise that they can just raise prices all they want because the insurance, government loans or other financial tricks and perks shield the consumer from the immediate pain of the extra cost.

Add to the above a total corruption of our supposedly “free market” system. Used to the price for something was some function of how difficult it was to make and how much benefit the consumer received from it. In our society both of those rules can be bent by perception. Brainwash enough people to believe that a college education is worth much more than it is and soon, businesses require it and people will pay more because it “opens doors”. Then, further, brainwash the public into believing that being a college professor is some kind of prestigious position that has to be highly paid and there is your cost of production increase. Add to those two the fact that our society is so full of “common sense” retards that are helpless without being spoon fed information in a book or on a computer and you’ve got 100s lining up to pay college tuition with government secured loans for degrees that are taught by worthless idiots and that are worthless but are required to get a job.

Basically, what you see here is broad based fraud and brainwashing at its finest. All made possible by mega-cities and populations of people that couldn’t feed themselves if they had endless supplies of game, grains and vegtables and would freeze in the presents of endless supplies of wood.

Society, as a whole, has been completely corrupted and brainwashed into several games, only one of which, is the Education Game.

Frankly, when it all falls apart, 90% of the population is so screwed. On the one hand, I’m chomping at the bit to see it happen. On the other hand, it will be a difficult time for me to watch so many suffer. The reward? Watching the worthless elites that bought into the system without really knowing what it is. That will be precious reward watching the college execs trying to feed themselves.

NetZero, “unplugging” is absolutely critical if the game is to be changed by the people. Of course, few will adhere to it because, as you pointed out, people have been brainwashed to believe happiness and success come from money and what money offers people.

Insurance has been a blight to our society but many would argue this point. Government regulatory actions to demand “social justice” for equality have also impacted our society — and much of it has been to society’s detriment. LBJ and his War on Poverty has done nothing to reduce poverty — in fact, the poverty level has increased.

So many bubbles have been created from scams that have been concocted in America, yet people continue to buy into them. Insurance policies have negatively impacted the American lifestyle but people always want insurance. Insurance is now mandatory in a number of forms and ‘highly recommended’ in other forms. We have health, auto, home, liability, business, flood, animal, life, and a few other risk-based insurances. Flood insurance became so problematic that it is now only available through the government (with NFIP). This is what will happen through Obamacare (but TPTB won’t admit it and it’s never been compared to the evolution of flood insurance). Home insurance is mandatory if you have a bank loan. Auto insurance is mandatory if you drive the vehicle. On and on it goes…..our lives are regulated by laws such as these and people stupidly keep following along, led by chains and the fears of financial loss. Most people don’t stop to analyze what is going on, they just stay on the treadmill wondering why their take-home-pay doesn’t pay the bills.

Like you, I’m ready for a free fall because after the pain and misery, we just might have a chance. If Darwin was right.

Once govt. became involved in health care and education the costs went parabolic. I used to get so pissed when every time the amount that Va. would pay monthly was increased the tuition of the diploma mills would also increase. The GI bill was not meant to make schools rich but to help Vets with some of the costs of schooling. It is all a scam with Mediscare being the root cause of the problems in health care.

Absolutely. Tuition costs soar because of government money pumped into education. When I started college my total cost for a year was $1,000. When my daughter went to the same school her (my) cost was $10,000 a year. Not living on campus.

I pay $4,000 a semester for my son to attend a trade school. Enrollment is high, though, because most students are subsidized by some government scheme or another. They don’t have to cough up the money themselves.

Middle class schmuck that I am, I have to pay 100% for my kids while subsidizing the others with my tax dollars. I get a certain sick satisfaction out of reading that the colleges may have to cut back to live within their means. They have certainly forced me to do that over the years.

It used to be that you did 20 years and you got a full paycheck for life.

Nowadays it’s do 20 years and you might get 33% of what you used to make, plus free healthcare at the VA. In order to get a full ride, you have to spend 30 years in the military.

Now for the fun part – in order to make it that 20 years, you have to get promoted… a lot.

In USAF terms, you have to be at least an E-6 to even get to that 20-year mark, and the PFE (NCO exams) is a screaming bitch, with only so many slots open for promotion. Unlike most other branches, getting that E-6 takes a miracle (I spent four years in and got as far as E-4/Sgt before my time was up… it usually takes six years to make E-5 unless you either saved a general from certain death, won the Congressional Medal of Honor, or you’re a gorgeous chick who can suck-start a Peterbilt.)

Oh, and you still get to keep up with PT, risk your ass getting killed in the field/flightline/cockpit/vehicle/tank/whatever, and be sure to keep your shit wired tight for those two decades.

Long story short, if you make it to year 20, you’ve really managed to either kick ass, or are a political monster.

To top all that off, given the shit pay (compared to the relevant civilian fields/MOS/AFSC), a retired NCO is pretty damned cheap as far as government pay is concerned.

After the initial phases of the collapse occur, there will be mass gang establishments all around the country in the interest of self-preservation. It’s not a far stretch to forecast in the cities and surrounding rural areas violence that has been seen in Juarez, Damascus, or Benghazi due to the formation of the willing to fight for food and shelter as opposed to sheer poverty, starvation, and ultimate boredom (imagine an entire generation of testosterone filled bored 18 to 30 year old boys with AK’s and AR’s and nothing to lose while fueled on World of Warcraft and BlackOps). One journalistic piece has mentioned that it may take the entire resources of the government just to maintain control of the gangs, mobs, and marauders that arise from the large metropolitan areas.

Sterlingsilver: the minute one of those little mall ninjas gets shot with a real bullet and the blood starts flowing, the rest of them will piss thier pants and go running home to their mamas, crying all the way. The really dangerous ones will be the kids who’ve done a tour or two in Iraq or Afghanastan. These “kids” will have all the skills necessary to build an effective gang unit that knows how to do recon work, patrols, planning assaults with fields of fire and retreat options, setting up ambushes, and the necessary logistical support to sustain themselves. These guys have the real world experience to be a major threat. Even logal gangs like the Bloods or even biker gangs won’t be as big a threat because these groups all lack the discipline of someone whose been in a combat unit. These are the people we need to be prepared for. If you don’t already have the training, there’s still time.

Regretfully this is a true statement. But do not discount the current gangs. Where do think some of those trained 20 year old went to find their new thrills. Many vet just returned to there former lives. Some by choice some not. And all service members are not angels. Most are good people but do not lie to yourself. There are some highly train battle ready not nice vets out there. I hate beaten up on vets but I work with many that should be placed in a box and only opened in case of a full out war. IN ANOTHER COUNTRY> NOT HERE EVER

MS13, Bloods and Crips have thier gang soldiers that are crime free to enlist and get the training. Even if they do not complete thier enlistment, they come back to the gang and educate them in warfare. They have no tattoos to affiliate them with a gang either.

hate to tell you this but there are alot of Iraq and Afghanistan vets in the street gangs. Many join for the training and the excitment of getting paid to do what they used to do for fun. For what it’s worth many of the senior NCOs in the Marines do not have Ancgo last names.

I will agree with Facebook Page as to, they would get us first if they really want what you have. The only saving grace is that at this time the the majority are not proficient with thier weapons. Very few understand just how many rounds can be expended in a firefight and although there may be AK’s, AR’s and SKS’s the vast amount of weapons are of different calibers. Decreasing sustainability of the weapon. Another point is that I fear is the use of dogs. Having a Rotti or pitbull close in on you in the dark is one scary thought. Expendable for the cause. Keep in mind how fast they can arm and gear up. They only have to over run a few Army/Navy surplus and some guns stores,already reconed.

Nothing could be better for the future of America than for all but a few colleges blow away into the dust. It would stop the indoctrination four years earlier, and keep the victims of the “you need a college education” meme from putting themselves in perpetual debt to the banksters for nothing of value.

If you want to learn something useful, it will not come from a classroom, but in the real world. The younger a man starts learning from experience in the workplace, the better off they will be.

Unfortunately, what will probably happen is that many of those who can no longer go to the colleges will end up in the Military fighting against freedom because there are no other jobs.

That is probably the goal of the corp. anyway. It’s not about worthless paper money. It is about limiting opportunity to make the murder machine more attractive to the recently graduating indoctrinees.

Some accountability is needed in the trade schools, as well. A full curriculum is offered in areas where there are no jobs, per se. An example is our local community college offering a 2 year certificate in massage therapy. The only jobs are in spas or working with chiropractors. Both pay around $9/hr for 30 or so hours/week. Meanwhile, the PTs who can accept insurance can go into private practice as MTs and the rest of the MTs who cannot bill insurance are also in private practice, having braved the marketplace to keep their skills in demand and themselves provided with enough income to live. What isn’t generally known about this particular course is that it was created to provide a salary to someone who uses the graduates as fodder in their own spa business. It also competes with at least one local private trade school course. The private schools are mandated to show employment by their graduates. The public school has its own built-in employment guarantee, however, the new grads don’t last, the pay is too low to repay public school loans and the hours are rationed between too many graduates. All that with a terrible ratio of entrants to graduates and low post-graduation employment, leading to student loan defaults.

This information was obtained from a private practice practitioner who served on the school Advisory Committee. I wouldn’t be surprised to discover similar sweet deals exist in other areas of the curriculum.

Trade schools are even worse than regular colleges. They exist solely to collect federal money from mislead people. They have recruiters and student loan processors, on commission, who know nothing of the field the school “teaches”. All they know is how to con young people into going into debt through high pressure sales, and pocket the profits generated by their marks. Many of them will disappear quickly once that money runs out, and so will the criminals that run them.

In the old days, if you wanted to learn how to do something, you got a job as an Apprentice with someone who could teach it to you. You made little money, but got a valuable education.

Today, you pay a lot of money for useless classroom learning from teachers who are not capable of surviving in the field they are teaching. Those who can do, do. Those who can not, teach. You leave with little hands on experience and no idea of how to run a business in the field.

Ever wonder why their is so much incompetence in so many places. The answer is no further away than the local trade school or state university.

A bachelor’s degree is required at the local airport ENTERPRISE RENTAL CAR location, for a helper to wash cars, clean ashtrays, check fluids and drive to the car wash.
But of course the pay makes it worthwhile: $9.00 per hour.
This was in an ad I saw while looking for work last year.

Unfortunately the ad is not running now so you could see for yourself.

I agree Matt… California will hit the rest button voluntarily or involuntarily… The problem with that $617 billion in debt is that it is owed to other people, and such a default would force them to default and so on and so forth… That’s a huge domino right there.

Similarly, the United States government will be faced with the same in due course… and when that domino goes…. well, you know…

A BK CA will not eliminate the retirement burden created for state employees. Judges have already defended existing retirement contracts so a state BK will only screw those who bought debt for stupid infrastructure projects.

While you are on it look at Stockton PD. The police union has started investing in foreclosed homes ( well one home ). It happens to be next door to the city manager. They removed all the trees that gave him shade and work on it early each morning, and while no one lives there weekend badge parties are common.

Colleges, like any other type of school, will usually slash the teaching positions first, then maybe, if the organization’s survival is at stake, might (*might!*) start hacking away at the bloated pile of ancillary crap that makes up support and middle-management (curriculum specialists stand out as an example).

Either way, colleges as just as much a big business as any other organization. Even though they are ostensibly non-profit, a capable administrator in even a small college can go home with a six-figure income and massive benefits.

You would not believe the amount of graft and corruption up in there. My favorite* scam is where a professor in one college would write a textbook, then have a prof in another college require it for the other prof’s class, in return for doing the same in his own. They do it to skirt any rules against selling one’s own textbooks. The textbooks will cost the student from $50-100+ each, they use their respective college press companies to keep overhead low, and the two profs will average about 200-800 + sales each semester (and if it’s a required undergrad class, you can sell well over 1500 or more in a medium-sized college). The result can buy you a new Jaguar each year if you do it right.

* I should say “favorite” as in I respect its audacity, as opposed to having any moral appreciation for it.

Long story short… it’s a good racket if you can get it, but it will suck your soul dry.

Already cutting some classes and electives out of my Kids school..some teaching establishments were closed, and programs slashed.

I have also said wait until the bubble pop of student loans that never will be paid back, because they cant find the jobs that are not here in this country anylonger , for them to get to pay the loans back..thanks to the policies of this admin.

think the housing bubble was a drag?,, at least there was an asset for them to sieze ( not that that was nice or good)..but how do you sieze an education?

they cant, and these people will drown in this debt…some will become desperate, and some will just quit in the worst of ways out of desperation..ugly? you bet!

oh and in reguards to the corruption in this system..it always floats to the top when times get tuff, always

VRF: They can seize an education by offering the graduate Government employment which includes loan forgiveness after 10 years. This is already being offered to medical and nursing students.

It amounts to indentured servitude within the government-run health-care system. Those taking the offer work in “underserved areas” full of impoverished Medicaid recipients for whom the care givers cannot prescribe those brand name medications. Even if they could prescribe those meds, there are growing shortages that have gotten so numerous I am told the FDA has set up a special website to track them. It isn’t just pricey brand name drugs. Simple antibiotics such as doxyxycline are among the rationed drugs. In case someone thinks they could then go to their vet and get a script ostensibly for their dog, there is a move for all vets to get a human MD to prescribe whatever the vet needs for their own practice. AFAIK, this hasn’t happened _yet_, but vets who were used to getting their meds via local pharmacies are being refused unless they have an MD prescribing. The vets can still order from their own suppliers, as long as there isn’t a shortage, of course.

It isn’t just drugs, either. Things like surgical tubing are periodically in short supply, as well.

For a source, I have friends and acquaintances in many medical positions and I hear of these issues almost weekly.

Getting an education is great, but not everyone is suited or capable of college and university. We have had a huge amount of courses ‘invented’ here in the UK to accommodate the less academically able students applying to university. This dumming down has to stop and those who are not academically equipped to deal with university level study should be encouraged into areas where they can flourish.

Of course this means decent apprenticeships for decent jobs have t be available, something my government just cannot seem to get a handle on.

I pity all the youngsters, regardless of ability who are been let down by the system. They deserve a better chances than they are getting right now.

Crumble, in my opinion is to kinder word. The situation has worsened year on year, nobody fails anymore and that in itself is entirely unhealthy I think.

Not so long ago i got hauled up for returning a piece of work to a student, it was appalling, not anywhere near the calibre required, these people are going to be let loose on patients at some point so i expect them to be able to at least write the name of the drugs correctly. I was told it was obvious what he meant so i should have marked it in view of that. we are talking the name of a drug here, a drug where many sound similar, especially when you are tired or distracted. the trainee got himself removed from my group because i stressed him out. what pray is going to happen on a Saturday night with accident and emergency full of drunks and drug addicts when a car accident victim or a stab victim or even a gunshot victim is brought in, screaming relatives trailing behind and the police trying to bag the clothes as we cut them off?

I’ll tell you what will happen, he will get stressed, make mistakes and some poor bastard relying on him to help will pay for it.

Burt:
I was told by a surgical professor that she had a recurrent nightmare of being in the ER on a gurney, looking up at her physician and seeing the name of her worst student ever.

Over the last 10 years I have heard of several MDs being fired at our local hospital for high morbidity rates. This was unheard of, earlier. It was said to just be personal sloth on their part.

I had an ER experience a couple of months ago that was also a nightmare. Only the lowest level aide got within 3 feet of my wounds. The higher ups, LPN, RN and MD, stood at the foot of the bed or administered a shot or charted vitals by watching a screen. There was no cleaning or irrigation of the wounds. Antiseptic was applied without prior cleansing. The antiseptic used stated right on the bottle it was not suitable for this sort of wound. The take home instructions named an occluding ointment unsuitable for puncture wounds or burns. When I couldn’t take the preferred antibiotic, I was prescribed something less potent, in a very short course at low dosage. I had to call my own physician to get a suitable antibiotic, long course, higher dosage.

I have experienced out-island clinic care in Australia’s National Health system and this was similar to being treated by the Government’s weekly flying doctor.

The word out in local medical circles is that a well-known teaching hospital in a major university town in the Midwest is full of MRSA due to illiterate and under-supervised cleaners. The med staff has taken it upon themselves to see to it that their OR suites are clean.

A friend w/acute onset back pain was given no imaging (this person could have afforded an image), told it was neurological, prescribed an anti-depressant and when they returned after some months with choking, gagging and coughing symptoms, simply told:”Oh, yes, that can occur.”

Not everywhere, of course. People in my family have also gotten recent top notch ER and surgical care. But the rot is growing. The experienced physicians are retiring. If they are not PC, they are being forced out. As expected, the poor, the uninformed and the trusting are the first to be harmed. Primum non nocere, indeed.

I’ve seen some “Close ups” ( where someone other than the internal surgeon closes the wound or openinng made for surgery) and its hideous work..butcher comes to mind..
some where women have had to go to a skilled plastic surgeon to correct the hack job some fumble finger fuck head with a needle did a nasty unskilled job of closing up a surgical entry.

Im no surgeon, never claim to be.. but ive closed up wounds on un-cooperative dogs and have never done as bad as some of the crap ive seen

the skill and care anymore for a supposedly highly skilled trade, is very lacking in some people..they just dont GAF to do it right., or are never taught to do it right from the get go.

Hell..I’ve seen Vets of wars with better looking work done on them , than ive seen come out of some hospitals..no joke!

I believe the number of deaths a year caused by the practice of medicine is over 300,000. Every error can be fatal. Try finding an English speaking nurse especially in Kaiser in So.cal. Good luck on that.

One of the biggest Ponzi Schemes ever was to tell high school kids “you better go to college if you want a good paying job”. They have to go into massive debt in order to go to college only to find out that there are NO really good paying jobs. So they are forced to pay back their student loans and hope to find any job whether it’s at Target or McDonald’s.

When I went to high school back in the 70’s there was such a thing as Vocational Technical High Schools. Today you have to go into massive debt for those. It’s criminal what we put our kids thru.

That’s why eventually the whole financial ponzi scheme collapses under it’s own weight just like the housing bubble back in 2008.

Rodster : I totally agree. My hubby: dumber than a bag of hammers most days. But absolutely a genius when it comes to plumbing and such. A Master Plumber”s wife never. ever. Goes hungry. The work clothes issue: MEH, almost a trade -off. Thank GOD for Sanitary cycle on the washer . lol.

Old engineer gets called in to fix a machine. The machine is an outdated model that no one else really knows too much about, but is critical to the business.

The engineer shows up, walks around the machine, studies it, then marks a part with chalk and says “replace that – you should be good to go.” They replace the part, and everything works again. The engineer then hands the company a bill for $5,000.

The vice president of the company, a new MBA thinking he can hammer the price down and put the screws on the price, demanded that the old engineer submit an itemized bill instead of a straight invoice.

The itemized bill read as follows:

* $0.25 : one piece of chalk
* $4,999.75 : knowing where to put the chalk-mark so that your dumbass employees knew exactly which part went bad.

Before we became a service economy it made sense plus before the govt. got involved costs for higher education at all but the most prestigious schools were reasonable. I have a friend who works at the IRS and she went to one of the diploma mills in order to get an advancement at work. For $58,000 she was advanced from GS-6 to a GS-7. Makes no sense.

You are the perfect example of why the DOOM CLUB can brainwash you into believing shit that isn’t gonna happen !!!!
SMOKINOKIE you are the first person to unintentionally fall into my theory !!!!
I LOVE IT !!!!!!!!

So the Very Few at the top Oligarchy – may Live Rich Fat on the the Life Long Higher Education Loan Debts Slavery of the Many – TAX DEBT SLAVE Ignorant Masses Financial Pain and Suffering for their gross ignorance in pursuit of a piece of paper that says their they are Socially Acceptable to be a part of the In-Crowd , Deserve too be Paid an Inflated Income Benefits Pension Bonuses for a career based on Negligence , Join the Secret Clubs Country Clubs of the Self Chosen Elite above the other Lesser Sub-based UN-Educated Humans of Earth – IS CRASHING IN UPON ITSELF !!!

;0( …………….. OOH BOO HOO !!! THE HORROR OF IT ALL !!!

THE NATIONAL COLLEGE SYSTEM is a FRAUD CRIMINAL CORRUPT PONZI BANKING MONEY-MAKING SCHEME !!!

IT’S a LIFE-LONG TAX DEBT SLAVE MONEY-PIT PRISON TRAP !!!

BUYER BEWARE !!! ESPECIALLY MORE NOW THAN EVER BEFORE AS THE SYSTEM COLLAPSES UPON ITSELF !!! JUST ONE MORE AMERIKA LIE DYING OF THE AMERIKAN self created CANCEROUS DISEASE called – GREED !!!

Rich, was that a state/federal loan for college education? Or was it a consumer loan for a car? There’s a big difference in how those are distributed…

Also, the loans are still available, but they are being cut significantly… Thus, a student who maybe would have qualified for a loan for $5000 five years ago may only get $500 now… You can see the effect across millions of people…

That, and again, this information isn’t something I made up…. This is happening right here and now… The numbers in the article above cited REAL statistics — a REAL COLLAPSE in student loan lending… and it is SIGNIFICANT — nearly $1 billion affecting at least half a million people – and as noted, there are $300+ million more coming in January… and this isn’t just California, it’s nationwide…

So, we can play the denial game all we want… but the facts (at least what the government and media tells us are facts) don’t lie in this case….

We can also turn to other stats that show just how bad things are… Maybe you can afford to put food on your table, but nearly 50 million Americans get SNAP benefits… is this the sign of a normally functional socio-economic system? 100 million on some sort of government distribution in order to cover monthly essential living expenses.

C’mon, even you have to admit that life as we knew it in America in the 90s’s or even early 2000’s is a lot different now than it was then…

That was a personal unsecured loan and a system that RELYS on debt to survive , this article makes absolutely no sense
I have received a credit card and a loan all unsecured with a crappy credit rating

Rich, a college loan and a personal loan come from two different funding sources (well, I guess technically not really, but you get the idea)…

GM will happily sell you a car right now on a NINJA style loan… those are back….

But student loans, funded by a state that has no money left in its coffers is a different story…

I very much enjoy your comments here at SHTFplan and read them regularly, but c’mon — you’ve got to see a problem with a bank giving you an unsecure loan if it is under the circumstances you describe… Multiply that by 100 million Americans, and we start talking huge numbers… the math is clear on this — it’s unsustainable…

I have no idea what is going on in California, but I worked for the local university until earlier this year and my wife still does. She is in financial aid and sits on the appeal review board and confirmed this is not happening on a national level. We had a record number of entering freshmen this year and not one who turned their paperwork in on time is on any kind of financial aid ‘wait list.’ Returning students who maintain the minimum progress are equally blessed.

Even with the popularity of private college scams, public colleges still educate the majority of students and if a state is in financial stress they will be unable to subsidize educations. We are doing pretty well because our state employees are underpaid according to national averages. A Senior Accountant with a master’s degrees makes $32,000 a year with no government pension.

I do expect the college bubble to be the next to pop, but as long as Washington insists on stimulating the economy by printing money, education will be a major stimulus point because it is good politics. Why else would anyone be unemployed? LOL

Yep, one of those credit cards they bang you $79 the first time you use it. Then 25%+ interest for every month it isn’t paid off. I noticed you didn’t answer Mac’s question. Was the loan a balloon note? 12 months, and then bamm, $1,600 on a $1K loan. Many can get loans, but none I know, will dare step out there on an iffy job and shakey ass economy. Their smarter than that…..good luck sport

Why is someone with a crappy credit rating lecturing everyone else as to being paranoid about economic conditions. Seems to me someone who cannot even make payments on time is not the one to be lecturing anyone. deadbeat.

@Durango Kidd-That is exactly right. My daughter and I both attend a community college and we pay our way. We didn’t get any grants,which is fine, and when we leave we’ll be paid in full. I used my GI Bill and and work also. So, when the economy implodes, those people who got enough money to “live on” during college can call bow down to their new owner.

Somehow we have convinced ourselves that you need a loan to be a student. Where I live more than half of the cost of a state university is room and board, and there are at least five good schools within commuting distance. Suck it up, live with mom & dad a few more years, and get a job.

Dave Ramsey is right about at least one thing. When you need money, the place to go is to work.

a college degree used to be a ticket to the middle class lifestyle
no more
kids going to college need to research VERY carefully if that degree will be of benefit to them
we are undergoing a MAJOR change in the paradigm

much of the workforce is becoming superfluous
or in plainer language NOT NEEDED
a large # of people in society will spend their lives
unemployed,underemployed and off and on government assistance of some sort
a LARGE PERMANENT underclass is being created
TPTB refer to them/us as “useless eaters”

Have to agree with that Satori.Unless you are getting a very specific education at a masters or above, your education will most likely not pay off.Most IT degrees are offshored or soft ware will replace most accounting and financial jobs. Robots are replacing blue collar manufacturing jobs. The labor rate is falling worldwide for most jobs. My wife’s contract is up for negotiating this month. The multi-national corporation she works for asked the union for a one year extension to the contract with present benefits. This corporation has been in business for over 100 years. They have never done this (as far as I know) in their history. My grandpap worked for them his entire life, including during the Depression.Their is a world wide depression unfolding and we will not be immune to it’s effects.The central banks and their owners are sucking the life out of the system.No money = no demand = no jobs.

@ you don’t need to know. It is very frustrating not to get the exact spot as the eastern portion of the Austalian plate (Samoa) is not the central part where it occurred. It was 6.1-6.4 like predicted and the time was right, but the location was off again somewhat. The polar areas are sure excellent predictors of what is to come. Everyone should really pay a lot of attention to north of 70 degrees north and south of 60 degrees south. I really feel much more is coming, and I am going to spend a lot more time concentrating on this rather than the other issues because the other issues will all implode together anyway if and when something big enough that Mother Nature throws at the planet.

Israelis do that and much more. Gazans are locked down in isolation. They live in a virtual war zone. Incursions, bombings, and border killings happen regularly.Bogus threats are claimed. Civilians are killed or injured in cold blood. Farmers are shot in their fields. Children straying too close to Israel’s border are murdered for sport. Israeli soldiers literally use them for target practice. It’s no joke. Little boys and girls die or get injured.Others end up disabled. Many are grievously traumatized. Western media reports ignore what they and adults endured for decades. Washington aids and abets the worst of Israel’s war machine.

Satori, you stole my thunder, but that’s OK. I feel sorry for all these people who have graduated from college since 2008 only to find their dreams shattered and stuck in a mountain of debt they may never be able to fully repay. The American Dream has been turned into The American Nightmare thanks to the globalists. Look all around you; America is dying and the only hope for her is for us to take our country back and turn it back into the kind of country God intended for us to have. SHTF and a Second American Revolution HAVE TO TAKE PLACE; there’s just no ther way to save this nation. Forget the national debt and all other debts; there’s no way they can ever be paid. it may be best to let these colleges and universities shut down since all they do is brainwash people just like the public schools do. Take care and keep prepping.

My daughter will be two or three when when we transition from Fall to Winter in the Kondratiev wave theory. During Winter her education will be in Saturday school where locals teach their own collective children important life and trade skills. When Spring arrives, the precious metals I set aside for her will fund her enterprise. By the time Summer returns she will be middle-age like me and once again preparing to the Winter cycle as I did.

The cycle continues as it always has. Sometimes more intense than others. For as long as the Lord allows.

~~~These students also tend to be among the neediest: They typically require remedial classes, financial aid, tutoring and counseling.~~~
Are THESE types what we want or even NEED in school now??
This is California’s future??

California has too many issues to even begin to discuss them all. There are too many damned liberals in this state. There are too many damned illegal aliens in this state. There are too many damned people mooching from the system in this state. The prisons are overcrowded. The pensions are braking the state. We have a system in which there are more hand outs than there are people putting into the pot. And on the topic of pot, these stupid a$$ liberals want to legalize a drug that would only lead to increased problems with gangs and cartels…but that story is for another day.

But let’s take a peek at just k-12 education. The classes for children have been 30+ for years. Parents want their little angels to have IEPs so that the school has to provide additional support for them (which means more $). All teachers have to be certified for ESL instruction (CLAD – cross cultural language and academic development) because we have so many damned kids that can’t speak the damn language. Teachers could have upwards of 10 or more kids in their class that need differentiated instruction because they have some special need (usually that need is an a$$ whippin’ that the parents have failed to give them). Parents sue schools left and right for the dumbest of reasons. The union is a joke and wastes the money of hard working educators. All the poor performing schools get all the $ leaving the schools that are achieving to beg parents to help out with paper and glue. Countless idiots with 2.0 GPAs expect to get into college because someone, somewhere told them they were special and they deserved it…but these kids forgot how to hold themselves accountable….I’ll stop.

My point is…the problem in California goes beyond the govt. The people are making it impossible for anything to get accomplished because so many are expecting for everything to be handed to them. Mac is absolutely correct…the domino effect that will occur when California collapses will effect the entirety of the United States.

I have been trying to get an IEP for my child (who is now in 10th grade) for three years – she currently has a 504 plan which does nothing. She qualifies (based on testing) and the school keeps refusing. I am going to have to bring to school to a hearing in order to get her the services she needs. California schools are the worst. Last year my daugher learned more about a teacher’s impending wedding than she did the biology course the lady was teaching. This year she is in an English course with a man who creeps her out – tells all the girls how pretty they are and cusses constantly in class. The teachers do not hand back work but once a term – there is no feedback and the work doesn’t get graded so students do not know how they are progressing. It’s a joke. But this year, our district managed to hand out one-time bonuses too all those hard working teachers. Two months after the bonuses were distributed, the district announced a short-fall of funds. Go figure!

I spent 18 years in the high school classroom in California. I remember in the early 1990s how the counselors went around to all the classes telling all those students (many who didn’t give a damn about school – it was a babysitting service for the parents) that every single one of them could go to college. Over the years the students came to believe that the only way they could further their education was if someone paid their way. It was unthinkable for them to believe that they had to pay for it themselves. A huge generation of ungrateful and entitled kids were raised…and are now raising their own kids.

For children who need an IEP, actually need an IEP, it can be challenging because the system is overwhelmed. I would argue that MOST kids do not need an IEP. One could easily argue that every kid has some sort of learning disability and that it is up to the school AND parents to make it happen. If schools take on the mindset that every child has an individualized learning plan then learning is more attainable to all. But parents often times aren’t willing to hold their kid accountable…trust me, I know. I see it daily. I often times see too many parents unwilling to help with the educational process, making it that much harder on the schools/teachers. If your kid actually needs an IEP (which you feel she does) then I hope that the appropriate accomodations can be provided. If I were you, I would talk with her teachers. I teacher that gives a damn will make time for you, as long as you come non accusatory. As I’m sure you know, parents often times think they know what is best for their little angel in the classroom but in reality, they really don’t have a clue. However, an IEP can’t exactly be carried over into a workplace, thus when I work with all my students with IEPs I make sure to give them all sorts of strategies to help them learn how to cope with their individual struggles. A boss simply will not give extended time for a project because the employee has an IEP…quite the contrary. That person just won’t get hired if they can’t learn how to work with their unique learning style.

I hear ya about there being teachers out there that don’t provide feedback, don’t get work back, etc. but like any job, there are some bad apples in the bunch. Until California and the US decide to take education seriously, there will continue to be undertrained and overworked teachers. Honestly…most jobs don’t require that you come prepared with every second of the day laid out. No…teachers come up with the script and execute it daily. It is exhausting.

In terms of bonuses…California public teachers do not get traditional bonuses. They get raises (if they are lucky) not bonuses. You might be confusing bonuses with cost of living raises or with administrative raises. Most districts do not do bonuses…trust me.

A piece of advice I can give you is this: learn ed code. You know ed code then the schools will be more willing to play ball. Good luck in your pursuits…and take some time to teach your daughter some strategies, if you haven’t already. It takes a community. 🙂

I know ed code – I was in the classroom for 18 years in California. The neighbor across the street, who is a special ed teacher states that the people who run the program from the district level on down are idiots, don’t follow the law and make it up as they go along. I held a meeting with the school last year (yet another one) and the people, including the district administrator in charge of special ed just sat there – said nothing, had no input, would make no offerings at all.

Yes, the money was given as a “bonus”. The teachers did not get raises at this school – they got a one-time payment which amounts to a bonus check. In California, on occasion, there are these one-time bonus checks were are doled out. I have received them myself in past years.

An IEP can carry over the college/junior college. In the state of California it amounts to free books, free transportation, and two years of free tuition. My daughter scored low IQ and low performance. While there is no discrepancy in the scores, the school has the option to extend a struggling kid a hand – if they want to. They don’t want to, so I have to force them to do so.

Funny, I think my daughter is smarter than the dim-wits who are running the program I want her placed into!

You’ll slam me, but many of the kids in special ed will never be productive members of society. We cannot afford to continue spending an inordinate portion of our resources on them. I am not advocating euthanasia or anything, but the rest of our children are being shortchanged in the present allocation of resources. Why is a 15 year old with the mental capacity of an 18 month old in high school? How does anyone with the mental capacity of an 18 month old keep getting promoted to higher grades in school? I am not being cruel, and my heart goes out to the child and his/her parents, but should my child be shortchanged to provide him/her with glorified day care? Also, there is a point where the kids with “behavioral problems” (read troublemakers) should simply be booted out of school. While we chase every lost lamb, the flock is being ravaged by wolves from all over the world.

Why not take your kid out of the school and home school her yourself than problem Solved. If I had my two boys with me I would be home schooling them. As it is their father has custody and the older one is going to a private school as his Paternal grandmother is loaded and the younger one who is legitimately disable. He was 15 years old on Sunday but has the mental ability of an 18 month old go to glorified day care at a public high school.

I’ll agree with Nella on this one. If you are having that many troubles, then pull your daughter out and put her in an alternative program. As you know, there are a ton of charter schools out there as well as online alternatives. If you were in the classroom for 18 years then you already know this.

And you’re right…an IEP can get your kid some nice hook ups in California…which sucks for those kids that don’t get the freebies. Like free books, transportation, tuition, etc. Personally, I do not at all feel as if a student with an IEP deserves this sort of monetary special treatment at the collegiate level. It is, in my opinion, yet another reason that the middle class American is getting screwed. If you are a hardworking, non learning impaired American, you have to work double time for everyone else….but I’ll step off my soap box. It pisses me off too much to stand on it.

Then once all are standing in place at quake fault line, hold hands sing kumbaya, and JUMP up and down hard as posible. If enough do that maybe kalif will float off into the ocean and no longer be a concern for the rest of america.

Such a class cant be any worse than classes which teach Rapology music, or African Feminist Lezbo studdies.

This will just push people to take on line courses, self-educate with used textbooks, READ, apprentice, learn a trade. More and more courses available on line. For thousands of years people were able to learn by reading books. Works for most disciplines, unless one wants to be a doctor, veterinarian, nurse, etc. Technical schools teach skills that are needed as well as academic courses.

College cut-backs have been going on for a while now, in various forms. I teach college classes online. We get paid $200 a week per class – and haven’t had a raise since the online program started, back in 2005 (if I remember correctly). It used to be, just a couple of years ago, that you would have 3, 4, even 5 classes running at a time with 12-18 students, which would mean making up to $1000.00 per week. Now they place 30 or more students into a single class and you still get paid that same $200 per week. We can view this as having our pay cut in half as many instructors have only one or two classes per term now – if any at all. Cuts hit us hard this last year or so and there is no sign of letting up. Some of the instructors counted on this job to provide for their living. A few years ago, that was completely feasible. Now, most are making pocket money at best.

Melvin: At age 16 (44yrs ago) I began work as window cleaner for $2.00 per hr. After Two yrs I got pretty good at it.

But once I got Very good at it I also wouldnt work for $10 per hr!…I also did wealthy folks private homes…Thats where the real money is!

I ONLY worked on Commission basis. But like most trade work rainy days equals zero pay. But sunny days can rake in the cash.

You are correct though when it comes to 200 ft in the air hanging from ropes like mountain climber gear etc, it is very dangerous stuf!…..I got an offer to switch to be an Iron worker and do tall steel. But by then was age 30 yrs old and wasnt going to begin as an aprentice again.

I had a bro who did iron work and he made alot of cash too.

Basically ANY Real trade type work is GOOD work as long as You apply self and are well suited for it.

There will always be a real need for trade work as well as window cleaners etc. Even in bad economys them who owns big buildings or factorys and wealthy folks huge homes will Keep up maintainance no matter what.

Even buisness thats shut down must keep up building because alot of money is invested into that alone.

Rich folks care not what it costs!

Remember, When me and my crew cleaned Your windows?….They wree So clean,You could almost see the Future when looking out said windows!!!

It sounds brutal but when you have prepared for you and your family and there are starving kids crying at your front door that will be a very tough decision especially when they are family to have to tell them NO that their Father should have prepared when he had the time and money but NOW he’s starving too. To late to say: “I Told You So” See how to prepare at:
surviving12-21-2012.blogspot.com

Puerto Rico has always been the playground of U.S. experiments here a link to a local newspaper which indicates that the Federal reserve suggested to lower the federal minimum wage to employees for businesses to work the problem of unsustainable economy.

@ Puetro Rico. I say this to everyone in your area and the Virgin Islands area, try to become very earthquake ready. After the Caribbean plate that was rattled by the El Salvador earthquake, the plate is in dangerous state of letting loose, especially the eastern poriton of it. The Haiti earthquake was nothing in comparison to what this plate is capable of. I like to try to warn people in dangerous areas so maybe they can be prepare and I thought I would take this opportunity as the Caribbena plate is in bad shape right now.

Thanks for the info !! i been trying to convince other people to prepare but you know the faces “you are crazy” i cant stop thinking that if anything happens to oil supply these island is going to get the worst part is a small island with no place to bug out we import everything and i mean everything i already prepping got wind power medical supplies and starting with food preparations.

@ Puetro Rico. I sure know the “faces” when someone is trying to save others from their own lack of insight to put away for the future. At least the island has lots of food that can be grown year round and usually a good supply of water, that’s a lot of the battle. This is one place that a garden can save you year long. You know how the government is with help, forget it. I have read much on the Caribbean plate after Haiti and how previous earthquakes have been quite large. Just like california people are in a state of total denial about the monster that sits under them. The Puerto Rico trench can and has launched enormous tsunamis in the past.

Back on the August 10 article “Trapwire” before all these earthquakes I gave 14 locations to watch out for big earthquakes coming. The comment is a little more than half way down. Already 2 of these places have been hit, the 7.7 deep focus earthquake in eastern Russia and the 7.4 in El Salvador. I suspected the Caribbean plate much more so on the eastern flank of it, still do. In fact I consider the eastern part of the Caribbean plate to be in the top 5 places likely to get nailed hard.

Please don’t think I am bragging about getting the predictions correct, I am really trying to warn everyone so maybe some people can be saved. Really the only way that people that are like what you said will listen, is when you can prove to them that a theory works. Still people want to doubt it because their secure worlds will be turned upside down when a disaster happens.

Always nice to see people preparing from different locations. You are the 1% that actually thinks and has good sense, like almost all the people on this site.

Got the 6.1-6.4 earthquake that was predicted on the last artilce on Sept. 2 at 10:46 AM, it was 6.4. The location AGAIN was off as it was the central part of the Australian plate, one the locations predicted was for western portion of Samoa which is the eastern section of the Australian plate. It is maddeining not to be able to pinpoint the exact location, but this method does predict earthquake as is again proven. Got the right magnitude correct again though. Other locations are still in danger for the other two earthquakes predictions until Thursday for the big earthquake from the 6.8, and the locations for this recent forecasts are still in play until Sunday.

@ JustMe. As you can see, the predictions are getting better and better as the time and magnitude are right on target. Having difficulty homing in on the exact location just as the first hurricane forecasters had with their cone of danger of landfall. They did awful on the recent hurricane. It is very hard to see where the energy is coming from. I said the eastern section of the Australian plate, along with a few other danger spots, and the central part of the plate had the quake. It was within the 4-5 days I said in the comment below the forecast at 7:34 PM on the same day, and the right magnitude of 6.4, as I said 6.1-6.4. Now to your question.

There is no coincidence that the Cascadia fault broke in 1700 around the time the southern San Andreas broke, just like the New Madrid in 1812 and the central part of the San Andreas broke the same year. All I can say is look to your north and to your south. WHEN the San Andreas breaks the Cascadia fault is not far behind. WHEN to the northwest a major fault breaks, such as in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. These are areas to look out for. It would not be imminent, but the probability would be much increased when these areas break.

I am not fimiliar with Oregon, but when you talk about Willamette Valley this means west of the Willamette National Forest, between Salem and Eugene? This area will experience 4-5 minutes of shaking, take an egg timer to see just how long this is. Lots of up and down motion. No tsunami inland as this will of course will along the coastline.

Can I project such a thing, YES. With a lot of confidence, NO, not yet. I mentioned that this 5.3 would bring a 6.1-6.4 earthquake and it was correct. I forecasted the Pacific Northwest as one of these areas in danger of a 6.1-6.4 until Sunday, it still is. I have said this many times, look towards true magnetic north and south for earthquakes around the world. Watch for earthquakes north of 70 degreee north, and south of 60 degrees south for earthquakes to come. That 5.3 was large enought to indicate something coming, which it did. Look for a bunch of high 4’s in this area for low 6’s elsewhere in the world, one or two 5’s for 6’s, and 6’s in this area for big earthquake as such happened in the Philippines at 7.6.

When this was still very new, this theory could not even get the right plate, now it is getting the correct plate, time and magnitude. Next will be to narrow it down to within a 100 mile radius. Watch the polar regions. Watch for action north and south of you. Watch for volcanic action as precursors to what is coming. When I see something I will try to warn everyone.

Portland straddles the Wilamette River, thus the north end, in Oregon, of the Wilamette Valley. I was told of a quake in the area years ago. I will watch for the indicators you mentioned. I recall a report from a local siesmologist several years ago, who said this area was long overdue for a quake, and when it comes, it will be big.

I was not here for the Mt.St.Helens eruption, but can see it on a clear day, have wondered if it will pop again, or is it going dormant again for a long time. Do you know anything about how the volcanoes are linked to the plates, and what thier potential is for eruption, either as a link to, a precursor to, or instead of an Earthquake?

@ JustMe. You brought up something that I just looked into about volcanic action. You have to be aware of of course Mt. Hood, but other volcanoes have erupted at times of large earthquakes. 1857 earthquake on San Andreas; Mt Rainer was active doing this time, South Sister peak in Oregon, so was Mt. Hood 1853-1859, Mt. Baker in Washinton 1857. The volcanoes active at time when the Cascadia fault broke; Mono Lake in california 1700, Mt. Lassen in calif., Glacial Peak east Of Everett Washington 1700. So volcanoes do indicate when earthquakes break or earthquakes first then volcanoes next. On volcano live there are all the volcanoes of the area and when they broke.

I don’t like Mt. Lassen, this volcano has always worried me along with of course Mt. Rainer. These volcanoes are capable of tremendous damage and lots of ash spread all over the crop belts of the U.S. as the wind blows. The more pressure on a plate boundary the more chance of a volcano going off. Earthquakes can of course rip open volcanoic vents that cause an eruption. Look for these volcanoes and activities here as a possible precursor to something bigger.

I’ve noticed they have recently quit running those, “get a better education, go to college” commercials. Now their running, “join the military”, those cuts are coming later this year. My DIL is going thru law school and we made sure to warn her 5 years ago, DO NOT take out ANY loans, the handwriting was on the wall way back then. She’s in her 5th year and now working for the state. Not my cup of tea, but seems to fit her well.

Warning: Thread Drift. This article from the Sunday New York Times. Pay particular attention to paragraphs 11 and 12. If the NY times is publishing this, dark days are ahead folks.

September 2, 2012

U.S. Companies Brace for an Exit From the Euro by Greece

By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ

Even as Greece desperately tries to avoid defaulting on its debt, American companies are preparing for what was once unthinkable: that Greece could soon be forced to leave the euro zone.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has looked into filling trucks with cash and sending them over the Greek border so clients can continue to pay local employees and suppliers in the event money is unavailable. Ford has configured its computer systems so they will be able to immediately handle a new Greek currency.

No one knows just how broad the shock waves from a Greek exit would be, but big American banks and consulting firms have also been doing a brisk business advising their corporate clients on how to prepare for a splintering of the euro zone.

That is a striking contrast to the assurances from European politicians that the crisis is manageable and that the currency union can be held together. On Thursday, the European Central Bank will consider measures that would ease pressure on Europe’s cash-starved countries.

JPMorgan Chase, though, is taking no chances. It has already created new accounts for a handful of American giants that are reserved for a new drachma in Greece or whatever currency might succeed the euro in other countries.

Stock markets around the world have rallied this summer on hopes that European leaders will solve the Continent’s debt problems, but the quickening tempo of preparations by big business for a potential Greek exit this summer suggests that investors may be unduly optimistic. Many executives are deeply skeptical that Greece will accede to the austere fiscal policies being demanded by Europe in return for financial assistance.

Greece’s abandonment of the euro would most likely create turmoil in global markets, which have experienced periodic sell-offs whenever Europe’s debt problems have flared up over the last two and a half years. It would also increase the pressure on Italy and Spain, much larger economic powers that are struggling with debt problems of their own.

“It’s safe to say most companies are preparing,” said Paul Dennis, a program manager with Corporate Executive Board, a private advisory firm.

In a survey this summer, the firm found that 80 percent of clients polled expected Greece to leave the euro zone, and a fifth of those expected more countries to follow.

“Fifteen months ago when we started looking at this, we said it was unthinkable,” said Heiner Leisten, a partner with the Boston Consulting Group in Cologne, Germany, who heads up its global insurance practice. “It’s not impossible or unthinkable now.”

Mr. Leisten’s firm, as well as PricewaterhouseCoopers, has already considered the timing of a Greek withdrawal — for example, the news might hit on a Friday night, when global markets are closed.

A bank holiday could quickly follow, with the stock market and most local financial institutions shutting down, while new capital controls make it hard to move money in and out of the country.

“We’ve had conversations with several dozen companies and we’re doing work for a number of these,” said Peter Frank, who advises corporate treasurers as a principal at Pricewaterhouse. “Almost all of that has come in over the transom in the last 90 days.”

He added: “Companies are asking some very granular questions, like ‘If a news release comes out on a Friday night announcing that Greece has pulled out of the euro, what do we do?’ In some cases, companies have contingency plans in place, such as having someone take a train to Athens with 50,000 euros to pay employees.”

The recent wave of preparations by American companies for a Greek exit from the euro signals a stark switch from their stance in the past, said Carole Berndt, head of global transaction services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

“When we started giving advice, they came for the free sandwiches and chocolate cookies,” she said jokingly. “Now that has changed, and contingency planning is focused on three primary scenarios — a single-country exit, a multicountry exit and a breakup of the euro zone in its entirety.”

Banks and consulting firms are reluctant to name clients, and many big companies also declined to discuss their contingency plans, fearing it could anger customers in Europe if it became known they were contemplating the euro’s demise.

Central banks, as well as Germany’s finance ministry, have also been considering the implications of a Greek exit but have been even more secretive about specific plans.

But some corporations are beginning to acknowledge they are ready if Greece or even additional countries leave the euro zone, making sure systems can handle a quick transition to a new currency.

In Europe, the holding company for Iberia Airlines and British Airways has acknowledged it is preparing plans in the event of a euro exit by Spain.

“We’ve looked at many scenarios, including where one or more countries decides to redenominate,” said Roger Griffith, who oversees global settlement and customer risk for MasterCard. “We have defined operating steps and communications steps to take.” He added: “Practically, we could make a change in a day or two and be prepared in terms of our systems.”

In a statement, Visa said that it too would also be able to make “a swift transition to a new currency with the minimum possible disruption to consumers and retailers.”
Juniper Networks, a provider of networking technology based in California, created a “Euro Zone Crisis Assessment and Contingency Plan,” which company officials liken to the kind of business continuity plans they maintain in the event of an earthquake.

“It’s about having an awareness versus having to scramble,” said Catherine Portman, vice president for treasury at Juniper. The company has already begun moving funds in euro zone banks to accounts elsewhere more frequently, while making sure it has adequate money and liquidity in place so employees and suppliers are paid without disruption.

FMC, a chemical giant based in Philadelphia, is asking some Greek customers to pay in advance, rather than risk selling to them now and not getting paid later. It has also begun to avoid keeping any excess cash in Greek, Spanish or Italian bank accounts, while carefully monitoring the creditworthiness of customers in those countries.
“It’s been a very hot topic,” said Thomas C. Deas Jr., an FMC executive who serves as chairman of the National Association of Corporate Treasurers. Members of his group discussed the issue on a conference call last Tuesday, he added.
American companies have actually been more aggressive about seeking out advice than their European counterparts, according to John Gibbons, head of treasury services in Europe for JPMorgan Chase.
Mr. Gibbons said a handful of the largest American companies had requested the special accounts configured for a currency that did not yet exist.
“We’re planning against the extreme,” he said. “You don’t lose anything by doing it.”

This country is coming apart so many different ways, it is bursting at the seams and steam is coming out. It is like what is next? What is so horrible here is that even college graduates are hardly guaranteed anything in the job market after they get their degree. Right now one of the best courses of study that should be offered in colleges is survival and preparation. Many companies would be most fortunate tohave someone that has been taught to use their ingenuity and frugal skills on money and purchasing, as they would make a fine employee for any business.

People have been demanding austerity as if it had no price. It has a price. What are those who get laid off going to do? And there will be a ripple effect through the economy since those laid off will lose purchasing power. If there is any justice, those clamoring for austerity will be nagatively impacted by austerity.

OK genious, where do we get the money to maintaun the status quo? Asuterity will come, whether voluntary or involuntary.

Obviously, you are all for “social justice” (handouts), as long as it is being carried out with MY money. Put your money where your mouth is and voluntary write a $1K check to the treasury every month (in addition to any taxes you pay).

Forget about college. If you are a high school graduate get a job laboring for a contractor. You will get an idea of what honest productive work is. Let your employer know you would like to learn the trade. If you are a good worker and show up every day he will most likely give you the chance. Sure, you will start out at the bottom of the ladder, but you will learn a skill that cannot be off shored and someone will always need your skills in the coming depression. Skills that you can barter or make money at will be the skills that will enable you to eat.

I noticed a University of Phoenix advert immediately above the post; very amusing! I suppose there will be quite a few moonbat educrats applying for unemployment benefits and food stamps in the near future. LMFAO!

You know what is ironic? Here are all these leftist professors, living the life of luxury at the expense of the kids, who are too dumb to figure out that their lives are being destroyed by these latte leftists and Learjet liberals. Hey kids, you want to strike? Stike against those leftie professors retiring at age 53 making $200,000 yr to sit on their leftist arzes.

Talk about sheeple..who the hell decided that lettig other people teach our children was the ONLY way to go?? So much talk about failures of colleges, and children not getting what they need in public school.
If this is the case, you should be teaching your own children! It is noones responsibility to teach our children..it is our job. Stop relying on something that is so obviously failing us all.
Hell, 90% of what they learn is useless in real life anyway. Interesting, sure, but not necessary.
How many of the people on here actually teach their children the skills they will need when shtf?? Do they know how to survive if you are gone? Can they hunt? Can they find shelter? Prepping is great, but if your kids are lost without you – they won’t last long if you aren’t with them.
I’d really like to hear how many have thought to teach the kids.

Been there,done that! I taught both my son and daughter how to survive and prosper in good and bad times…taught them the only persons they could count on were God,themselves and family…anyhow they both can farm,shoot very well and know how to work,my wife and I(her mostly) homeschooled them to a very high standard(not one day in public school,in fact the school district never knew my kids existed till they were graduated)),they aced their state tests in the top 1% of their class( I taught them farming/welding/metal working/auto repair and lots of other things….both were on their own by the time they hit 18 and are never looking back…boy is a electronics whiz,repairs computers in manufacturing machines,girl is graduating into medical field and works hard at anything from bussing tables to stacking lumber…bragging? You bet!(though it aint bragging if its the truth) theyre good people,proud of them both…they never asked for or took a dime and though I do what I can for them (and it isnt much)they didnt put me into hock for it …they went out and made it happen…yessir my Lady and I taught them to survive and to prosper while theyre at it and Im certain they will do well!…my son is now teaching his two girls the basics and I(Grampa) get to help,no sir times may be tough but mine will be tough enough to tough it out with the best of em and thats all I can ask for!Best gift you can give your kids is all your attention and instruction,from the Bible to bolts and anything else,then set them free to fly or fall on their own merits,just be there to help pick them up if they fall and cheer them on when they reach a new height,but be there! “Live free or die tryin”

I would like to add to your statement that any parent that gives a rats ass about their kids will stay away from the Public Schools and home school their kids themselves. Than help their kids learn a trade and start their own business even if it is something like Soap and Candle making and selling their wares on this website: http://www.etsy.com/ I mean if some not so smart people can get melt and pour soap and add some color and fragrance to it and make money off this website than so can alot of other people.

The White House Briefing Room released another Executive Order, this time to “help” veterans who may be suffering from mental health issues. And in doing so, adds to the government payroll future union members and drains on the American economy.

For Immediate Release August 31, 2012

EXECUTIVE ORDER

IMPROVING ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR VETERANS, SERVICE MEMBERS, AND MILITARY FAMILIES

There have many stories on how veterans have been “helped” by the VA and other hospitals. It’s the kind of help no one wants.

Mr. Obama wants to see by the end of this year, a full 50% increase in Veteran Crisis Line employees. And the funny thing about governments, they want to see a return on investment. Even if they are running at a loss.

Further, veterans can let someone know they are having problems by using insecure means of communication such as phone texts and online chats.

*** IF YOUR A AMERICAN VETERAN IN NEED OF HELP – GO TO A PRIVATE CARE SMALL “PRIVATE” PRACTICE DOCTOR !!! PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY !!! DO NOT TRUST THE FRAUD CORRUPT CRIMINAL VA !!! THIS IS A SERIOUS WARNING FROM A VET WHO KNOWS !!! PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THE VA AND THE FASCIST COMMIE ZOG FEDGOV !!!

PTSD means you lose the right to a firearm. Be careful what you say to any health care worker for any reason. There was a person who was taken hostage in a bank robbery and they decided later he had PTSD as a result of his experience and he lost his right to own a firearm. Hows that for justice.

Again for the vets, my dear husband of 38 years being one;
1) I don’t own any weapons, firearms, guns; the one registered was lost in a canoeing accident
2) I am not depressed or on any drugs
3) I am not suicidal or have suicidal thoughts

in my opinion,everyone is full of shit.( now that i have your attention) if this is the end, drones watching our every move, stooges busting down the door and taking guns, food and whatever they want from us ,nothing will matter. They print the fiat money that losses its value for us and give it to thier friends so they can buy up the world before they pull the plug on us. If this teotwawki lasts for more than a few months im screwed and i am sure i will not be the only one, sure alot of you have been on the ball and might make it a whole year if you are lucky, and even a few others will last longer along with the creators of this shit storm that is comming. But if there is no one to trade with, work your feilds, repair your vehicles and so on … it will be pretty bad for all who last for a long time, because most of the leftover population will be reeducated or dead. And the younger reeducated generations will despise any holdouts so they will have a good supply of soldiers to hunt us down. I dont know the answers, but if all alike thinkers regardless of age,sex,color,job skills,opions,needs,wants or whatever dont come together, than guess what, at some point we all will be sucking on that long smelly turd left from the shit storm. Like I said I dont the answers, every day I realize that unless i win the lottery i will not be prepared if i had all that money and ten years to do it. God help all of us…………over

Greetings Everyone!
The educational system in this country is in dire straits.Just one more part of the total system that’s falling apart.I just read the audit of the FED by the GAO.At the top of the lists of banks with loans is Citibank.They got a 2 TRILLION(Yep,2 Trillion boys and girls!) interest-free loan with no stings attached.And they were just one of many.the list includes a bunch of foreign bankers as well.Interest free,of course.That OUR taxpayer money they’re playing with.Somebody’s living large at our expense for sure.No wonder they (the 1%) despise us so.Guess we won’t be seeing THAT money coming back for a while.In the GREAT DEPRESSION of 1929,there were many collage grad school people waiting tables and sweeping streets.Guess we’re coming full circle.
The American Dream was nice while it lasted….
All the Best to All Here
GFG

Most folks would be self sufficient if they were allowed to be. Hell, the kids can’t open a lemonade stand without the threat of arrest! I do understand entitlement society and their ticket is just about punched.

Get through that, when the majority of the masses will not, and you’re in the front running. I think to keep your head down and a low profile, while staying safe, hydrated and fed will decide if you’re around for the rest of the show that will unfold.

I would surmise, and I have admittedly no education or training in Physiology or Psychology, that people living with the types of addictions and afflictions you mentioned would have the rule of 3’s applied to them more harshly and in a faster manner. For addicts, it would simply be a question of scarcity. When there is literally NO heroin, alcohol, medication for their ailments, they will go into hideous withdrawls. I believe the rule of 3’s apply most accurately to fit, healthy, non-addicts. For these folks though, it may be more like the rule of 2’s.

This could easily take a treatise on money, but its very simple… most people don’t understand it, where it comes from, why governments or people have to ‘rent’ it. If you equate ‘borrowing’ with ‘renting’ then the Problem becomes clear…
There is a big difference between ‘money’ and ‘credit’. One is tied to YOUR value, the other is created out of thin air, although, you are fooled into thinking it is the ‘same thing’. It is not.

One is created by governments to give water to the people, the other is created by bankers to give water to themselves and their buddies to control YOU.

They (the bankers) KNOW, that NOBODY can turn down FREE MONEY or low rent money… its human psychology. They use to control governments and people. They know the cycles of reality are against YOU and work for THEM. So you are tied to FIXED CONTRACTS of debt, that they know, in many cases, will succumb to the reality they CREATE, the age old “Pump and Dump” ran out of the markets. They make money going up, and make out like bandits on the way down.

So what to do? Its coming… it will a form of universal credit, they will declare ‘capitalist money’ EVIL because it is too limited… then governments will go to a global electronic credit system but to back that system, it will require the reintegration of all nations, to provide ‘depth’ of backing.

Unfortunately, it will also require a chip, inventory controls, private property inventories to control black markets, all your stuff will become theirs. But hey, ‘money’ will be ‘free’. The Ultimate free lunch for everybody… unfortunately, the Universe doesn’t work that way, so you will have to have no freedom, at all, possibly even a new single religion, to eliminate those pesky Christian’s… you understand… their concepts of liberty and freedom just have to go…

There is another way… we were told long ago, to “go into the wilderness, on the wings of an eagle” Once you understand that Babylon was the ultimate system of political and money and religious control over men’s minds, to keep the masses subjugated and relatively happy and supportive of the Rule of Gold, then you understand, why Babylon must fall “in one hour” and only the “merchants of the Earth” SEE it.

To go into the wilderness is to leave the system, to depend on yourselves, learn new trades and skills, and above all, create a new money system that eliminates ‘renting’ by the concept of modified Real Bills, a sort of barter common credit system. Where value is real, not implied or centrally controlled by thieves. Central control is the issue, period. The Wings of eagles should be obvious. An alternate economy can takes wings on gold eagles, silver eagles and barter paper. The paper can be controlled through One Time Pad like codes, that ensure the bill is used once and redeposited into the Bank of God.

All it would take is WANTING IT. This is what the Brotherhood of Iron is about. Understanding that we are in an economic war, and the only winning response is NOT TO PLAY.

But… nobodies interested. We all want to hold up in our refuges and point gun’s out the window, thinking we survive for a few months and everything will be alright… it won’t. When you wake up, or come out of the cold, reality will slap you good and hard because when Babylon falls, The Beast will rise up in its place. When you stand and shout “From my cold dead hands”, that is what you will be, cold and dead.

And then you either have a support network in place, or… you become a drone in their machine, or a dead duck for not going along with the program.

Something wicked this way comes, in the darkness of December. It will only be the beginning of madness, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. The Grail knows.

Are you worthy, do you have eyes to see the darkness on the horizon? Do you have God in your heart? Do you love Jesus? Then understand this, you have been deceived, by doctrines of devils, when you wake up, do not lose faith, remember the Piper of the Grail, go to the wilderness in Babylon. The parables are to keep the dark ones out, let them have their laughs. Only the people of God will be left at the true end of the age; 2033.

If you do not have God, don’t worry, you shall receive your deepest desire.

The Piper plays the song of The Grail,
so the Chorus may sing,
that the people may dance,
and the forests will echo with laughter.

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